The present invention relates to improvements in a numerical controller equipped with an optional block skip function.
Conventional apparatuses of this kind are arranged so that if a special character, such as a slash (the symbol "/"), is present in a cutting program block at the head thereof, when an optional block skip switch on an operator panel is ON, information concerning the block is skipped and regarded as invalid. The information concerning the block is regarded as valid and delivered out to a buffer storage circuit for execution only when the switch is OFF. That is, the prior art apparatuses only permit the option of whether to execute a predetermined block in a specified section in a series of programs.
Accordingly, one has the option of cutting a plate as shown in FIG. 1 and boring at positions 10 and 11 in a certain lot and, in the next lot, boring only at the position 10 after cutting. However, one does not have the option of boring at a position 12 instead of 11 after the cutting in the next lot.